What to watch for in November: The Northern Flicker, A Woodpecker
Here’s the Central Texas bird forecast for the month, courtesy of Travis Audubon. Learn more about Central Texas birds and bird-related events for all ages at travisaudubon.org or by calling 512-300-BIRD. Follow us at www.facebook.com/travisaudubon
The Northern Flicker is a large woodpecker that has a huge range across the U.S. and Canada. Typically the northernmost population moves south for the winter. Most U.S. birds are resident, meaning they can be found in a location year round. Texas has resident populations over much of the state including the Panhandle and the eastern third of Texas. In the Austin area flickers started arriving in October. Some will stick around through March with stragglers through May. From banded specimens recovered in the U.S. it appears that some of the birds wintering in Texas (and Oklahoma) are from the Canadian prairie provinces, the Dakotas, Minnesota and Iowa.
A little larger than a Blue Jay, at about 12 inches in length, weighing almost 5 ounces, you’d think a Northern Flicker would be pretty noticeable, and it can be. But then again, it has a mix of black barring on a brown back, and black polka dots on a paler breast that lend it some camouflage. Its white rump is very visible in flight.
There are two subspecies of Northern Flicker and each has some tell-tale field marks. The eastern subspecies is called Yellow-shafted. It has underwings of brilliant yellow, and yellow under the tail. The western Red-shafted has red underwings and red under the tail. We also see some that are intergrades between the two, with eastern and western characteristics. Both subspecies have a black breast band.
If you like the challenge of trying to identify a bird’s sex the presence or absence of the malar stripe is one thing to look for. On the bird’s head the malar is a strip of feathers that runs down and back from the base of the bill along the side of the throat. Adult males of both subspecies have them; females don’t. The malar is red in the Red-shafted and black in the Yellow-shafted.
When we think of woodpeckers we probably picture a bird hitching up and down tree trunks, looking for insects. While flickers do that, they are mostly ground feeders, foraging there for ants and beetles. Their tongues can stretch four inches beyond their bills to help them reach insects and their larvae. In the winter, flickers eat berries, including poison ivy berries, and seeds too. Their propensity for ground feeding explains why flickers leave areas of deep persistent snow in the winter.
The Northern Flicker is nicknamed the Yellowhammer in the eastern part of its range. It’s the state bird of Alabama and the only woodpecker that is a state bird. The flashes of bright yellow from its underwings, seen in flight, are memorable to casual observers. The hammer designation probably refers to its evenly spaced drumming, which sounds like a pneumatic drill. The flicker also has a song similar in pacing to the drumming that is a keek series, varying in volume over a 15-20 second period. Both the song and drumming are used for communication.
Unlike any other North American woodpecker, some female flickers are polyandrous, having more than one mate. The female gets one brood underway with one mate and another with a second male.
The Northern Flicker is considered a “keystone” species due to its excavation of nest holes in many trees on its breeding grounds that are subsequently used by other species. Small owls, bluebirds, duck species and small mammals like flying squirrels have all been found in flicker nest cavities.
All of Austin’s large metropolitan parks like Commons Ford Ranch, Emma Long and Roy Guerrero, as well as the Hornsby Bend Bird Observatory, are good spots to check for wintering flickers. Areas of open ground alongside open woodlands and forest edges, and grasslands dotted with trees are attractive. Flickers show up in urban and suburban areas, where they might visit seed and suet feeders. Listen for the loud nasal downslurred “keah” or an extended series of notes that are the way a flicker announces itself.
Upcoming Travis Audubon Events
Check out the November calendar for an amazing variety of field trips, bird walks and classes to enjoy in the cooler weather. Registration is usually required, and some activities fill quickly. Classes are fee-based. Walks will take place at Commons Ford Ranch, Hornsby Bend, Reimers Ranch, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Mueller, Roy Guerrero Park, and a couple of Austin Public Libraries and one in Buda. Other locations include Dowell Ranch, Pace Bend Park, Brushy Creek, Pease Park, Shoal Creek, Laguna Gloria, Nutty Branch Ranch in Hays County, and Limestone Links in San Marcos. Register in advance for the free Zoom talk on November 19 at 7 p.m. featuring biologist and writer Sophie Osborn. In her book Feather Trails—A Journey of Discovery among Endangered Birds, Sophie shares her experiences reintroducing endangered Peregrine Falcons, Hawaiian Crows, and California Condors to the wild.
Compiled by Jane Tillman, Travis Audubon Volunteer
Resources: All About Birds, Birds of the World, the Travis Audubon Seasonal Distribution Checklist, The Sibley Guide to Birds, and the Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America.
